Category: Book Related

Spooky Book Recs for You and Your Book Club in 2025!

Posted on September 25, 2025 by fantasyst95

If you’re looking for recommendations for your spooky book club read, look no further! I’ve read a number of spooky books over the years, and these are my recommendations for a meaningful conversation.

I’m reading God of the Woods by Liz Moore for our next book club meeting. Whilst I’m yet to try it, Meg has already devoured the book in audio format and can’t wait to chat about it!

Spooky Book Recs

Dark Academia

If We Were Villains

If dark academia is a genre you and your book club love to read, If We Were Villains is a spooky book that’s right up your alley.

A group of talented theatre students, specialising in Shakespearean performance, find themselves embodying the characteristics of Shakespeare’s traditional heroes and villains. However, their last year at the school will challenge the roles and dynamics of the group, with deadly consequences.

Even if you aren’t a fan of Shakespeare, or like me struggle to understand the language, it’s not strictly necessary. I think this is the kind of book that is approachable for readers regardless of their understanding… but for those that do, maybe there are hints and Easter eggs that can make the narrative more interesting.

I really enjoyed this story, and I hope you do too!

Horror

Imaginary Friend

Imaginary Friend may be a stretch for most book clubs due to the length of the book. At just over 700 pages, I’d recommend this spooky book to committed, die-hard horror fans.

It’s disturbing anyway, but especially because the protagonist affected is a child. It’s honestly a seriously spooky read. I read this book 6 years ago now. Whilst reading the book in sunny Spain didn’t quite fit the vibe (my home town wet and windy weather is much more appropriate), Imaginary Friend has a strong, sinister atmosphere.

Classic

Pet Sematary

A supernatural horror classic from the King is Pet Sematary. Admittedly, this was one of the first horror books I read and I loved it!

Pets are a relatable subject for a lot of people. I never really grew up with them, but even still, the affection for family pets is something we are all familiar with. Maybe I should re-read the book now I do have a cat…? Or not 😂 My boy has nothing in common with Church!

Even then, this book held its power over me. It’s a spooky book with an unreliable narrator. If that’s your cup of tea, you’ve just found your next read!

Short and Sweet

Carrie

At 272 pages, Carrie is both a well-known classic and a short book. If your book club can’t make a huge time commitment for your next read, Carrie is ideal!

Stephen King is a well-known author and an interesting pick. The only caveat is that this book touches a lot on religion and extreme parental discipline. If you want to discuss these themes in your group, make sure you know each other well and it’s a safe space to share views.

Psychological Thriller

The Housemaid

Psychological thrillers are a huge and popular genre. I love it, so I was pleased when my book club picked The Housemaid earlier this year.

In the shoes of then Millie and then Nina, immerse yourself in a twisty story where the apparent suburban dream is not all it’s made out to be. Again, fans of unreliable narrators will have a great time with this story! It’s dark and leaves you questioning everything you think you know.

If you and your book club want a short, fast-paced spooky book, The Housemaid is perfect. It’s also a series. If you are the type of reader to binge read a series, that’s an option here too!

Summary

Hopefully you’ve found a spooky book recommendation in today’s post! If not, have you read any of these books? Would you have any other spooky book recommendations for readers!

If so, drop a comment below with your recommendations!

Monthly TBR – September 2025

Posted on September 8, 2025 by fantasyst95

My monthly TBR post is a little later than usual. If you read yesterday‘s Sunday Summary, you’ll know that I’ve just been away. However, now I’m back into full swing and I have a great list of books I’m planning to read in September. Make yourself comfy, and then we can go through the list of books I have been and I’m due to read this month.

Have you read any of the books featured in this monthly TBR?

Fixed Reads

The Atlantis Covenant

The first book on this monthly TBR was the Atlantis Covenant by Rob Jones. If you are a regular reader here, you’ll know I read this book early as I had a blog tour obligation on the 4th of September.

If you are a fan of Indiana Jones and like this kind of high-stakes action with history and archaeology combined, go check out my review of this book!

The Giver

The next book on my list was The Giver. You may recall this book was on my August TBR as we were picking it up for our workbook club. Due to summer holidays, we ended up pushing this meet-up back to tomorrow. In the end, I ended up reading this quite last minute. However, I was able to read the book in just a couple of sessions whilst travelling.

I really enjoyed this children’s dystopia. Although this book is aimed at a younger audience, it didn’t oversimplify the dystopian setting or the message behind the book. It was a really easy and interesting read. And, as you can tell by the way, I’m discussing this book, it’s the second I’ve already ticked off this list.

Sensitive

Switching to audiobooks, my next and current read is Sensitive.

Admittedly, this book is near completion as well. I have just a couple of hours of audio left and I expect I’ll make light work of it.

I’m interested in reading this book as I am pretty sure I fit into the classification of a ‘highly sensitive person’. As the book iterates, there are different ways people can be sensitive and some overlap with other traits. I’m pretty confident I’m an emotionally sensitive person, so it’s been validating to know my feelings and experiences aren’t unique.

We’re getting to a useful section of the book shortly – the authors share strategies for sensitive people to put into practice. That’s one of the main takeaways I’m looking for from this book, so I’m keen to progress with this audiobook!

A Witch’s Guide to Love and Poison

Another fixed read for the month is the Cottagecore Fantasy Book Club read, A Witch’s Guide to Love and Poison. As progress goes, I’m already halfway through this book as of sharing this monthly TBR.

Whilst I’m already ahead, I’m going to prioritise this book so I can encourage conversations about the book in the Discord group. For the last couple of books, I’ve been behind and it’s made the job a little easier. As I picked this up as an ‘easier’ read whilst away, I’m going to keep going.

HR Disrupted

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to HR Disrupted last month. As it’s a loan, I can’t put this book off.

It’s also a short one, so it’s carried forward from August but will absolutely be read soon!

Betrayal of Mercia

Ahead of another upcoming blog tour review next month, I need to catch up on the prior book of the series.

Somehow, I missed reading Betrayal of Mercia as part of the publication blog tour at the beginning of the year. In fairness, I’ve been doing a lot less in the way of tours, so it’s not a surprise I missed this email.

Regardless, I didn’t miss the email for book eight, Shield of Mercia. So, first things first, I’m revisiting the series with Betrayal of Mercia and then heading into book eight.

Mood Reads

The Pagan Lord

Another carry forward, but this time originally featured in my July TBR, is The Pagan Lord.

Historical fiction is more prominent towards the end of this monthly TBR. This isn’t the first historical fiction on this list. But, in practice, I think I’ll start with this well-loved and reasonably short seventh instalment in Bernard Cornwell’s The Saxon Stories series.

Gran Familia

In a completely different change of pace, I’m hoping to read a manga and feature/review the book ahead of its official publication at the end of the month.

As it’s a 200-page manga, I expect it will be a very quick read. It’s also a complete change of pace to the other books on this monthly TBR. I don’t read manga very often, but I think it’ll be nice to introduce some to my reading and my blog content.

Stay tuned for more about this manga in due course.

Shield of Mercia

If I get time at the end of the month, my aim is to start Shield of Mercia ahead of next month’s blog tour review date. It’s early next month that I’m due to review this book. So, it makes sense to start as early as I can!

Summary

I have a large number of books on September’s TBR, but thankfully they are shorter than a lot of the books I have on my wider reading list…

Have you read any of the books featured in this monthly TBR?

Monthly Wrap-Up – August 2025

Posted on September 1, 2025 by fantasyst95

Hot off the press, I’m here to share my reading progress in today’s monthly wrap-up! I hope you enjoy today’s catch up post and can take some book recommendations away.

In my August TBR I shared an extensive list of books I hoped to pick up. As usual I didn’t get around to it all. My plans also had to change a little as I agreed to take part in a blog tour later this week after sharing the TBR.

Shall we take a look at what I did get to?

Books Read

House of Frank

My first carryover from last month was the July Cottagecore Fantasy Book Club read, House of Frank. I only had a third of the book left and I was determined to finish it even after the readalong was officially finished.

It was a pretty decent read and I’m glad I got to see the final character progression. The book didn’t end entirely as I expected, so it did have a little twist. Whilst I did enjoy the book, it was a pretty average read.

In fairness, even at this state of affairs it fared better than the August book… but more on that below.

Stormdancer

Even closer to the finish line than I was with House of Frank, I completed the final two hours of audio for Stormdancer in early August.

I enjoyed this book a lot and I’m really interested to see where the rest of the series will take us. The good news is that I have the other two books in audio format so I can pick these up at my leisure. The steampunk and Asian fantasy mash-up is truly an interesting genre to read. Honestly, I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. Then again, so far Jay Kristoff hasn’t put a foot wrong and I’ve enjoyed all his books.

The first book ends on quite a cliffhanger. What happens next? I can’t wait to find out!

If We Were Villains

This book has been sat on my bookshelf for the longest time. I found out this month why I’d been holding out on myself!

If We Were Villains is a fantastic, suspenseful read. Although the book and narrative owes a lot of its influence to Shakespeare, you don’t need a wealth of knowledge on his plays to enjoy this book. Sure, I think there are probably smart references and Easter eggs fans could pick up on. From someone not well-versed though, it really doesn’t affect your overall enjoyment of the book.

This is quite an interesting one. Whilst from the beginning we think we know what happened (the tale is told by a single narrator after the event, after all), that turns out not to be the case at all really. It was an interesting way to play out the narrative. Fans of dark academia books will definitely love this one!

The House Witch

I have a DNF to share this month, which was August’s Cottagecore Fantasy Book club read.

In all, The House Witch was fine, but I lost steam with it. It’s quite long-winded and takes time to get going. A few of us in the group agreed that the book read like an indie, even though it has been traditionally published.

I was struggling with motivation to pick up the book. Eventually, I decided it wasn’t worth trying to force myself through it so took the decision to write-off the couple hundred pages I read. It’s a shame, as that’s effort that doesn’t count towards any of my stats. But, I made the right decision as reading progress picked back up again with a fresh read, and a very drastic change of pace…

The Atlantis Covenant

The final book I picked up physically at the end of August is The Atlantis Covenant. As I mentioned near the top of this post, I signed up for this blog tour at quite short notice, well, at least for me. Rachel dropped me an email asking for help with the tour and I did like the sound of it. So, I agreed to read it for the tour! That tour date is in just a few days time. In the spirit of not leaving things too late, I picked this up with a few days left in August.

As of drafting this monthly wrap-up post, it is still a current read but I am 60% through and the reading time estimate puts me at less than two hours to complete the book. It’s significantly faster paced and action-packed, which is a direct contrast with The House Witch. Think if Indiana Jones was a book, that’s the kind of experience I’m having right now. It’s fun and there are some interesting theories coming up in the narrative. Will they be true, or is there another twist yet? I suspect there is! I’ll be reading this in the next day or so in order than my blog tour post is ready to go live early on Thursday.

Stay tuned!

Tyrant’s Throne

This monthly wrap-up includes updates on two more audiobooks yet, so don’t be too hasty with scanning down the post!

In August I listened to Tyrant’s Throne in its entirety. It feels like it’s been a while since I completed an audiobook within a calendar month. However, this was the final book of its series and after listening to Saint’s Blood pretty recently, I was keen to get to the end of this book!

Often when I’m finishing a good series, I get sad towards the conclusion and start putting up resistance to actually finishing the last book. However, as I shared in my Sunday Summary yesterday, I didn’t get to that point with this book for the best of reasons! I’m so glad I finished the book and I hope to see more stories from Falcio, Kest and Brasti in future.

Sensitive

The final audiobook and book to feature in this monthly wrap-up post is Sensitive by Jenn Granneman and Andre Solo.

I started this relatively short audio with jut a couple of days left in the month. The other intended reads on my August TBR are owned in other formats already, so I didn’t start audiobooks of those deliberately. Instead, I turned to my 20 Books of Summer Challenge for inspiration and chose Sensitive.

As of this monthly wrap-up I’ve already listened to a healthy chunk of this audiobook. As at the end of the month, I officially carried over just under five hours of the audiobook to listen to. In practice, I’ve listened to a couple of hours today, so I have a little under three hours. I expect I’ll make light work of it so I’ll be starting a new audiobook soon!

Summary

So, I picked up no less than seven titles at some point over the course of August. In terms of my 20 Books of Summer Challenge, I finished the season having read seven of the original books in total, as well as DNFing and subbing out another. I had hoped for more progress, but then again, I couldn’t always allow for book club or blog tour commitments in my reading list. I’ve still read a decent amount over the last three months. The unread books on this list aren’t going away. I’m putting them on a ‘priority’ list and I want them all finished before the end of the year.

That’s everything to catch you up on in this monthly wrap-up update!

Have you read any of the books in today’s post?

Top Ten Tuesday – Books with a High Page Count

Posted on August 19, 2025 by fantasyst95

If you’re looking for a chunky book recommendation, then today’s Top Ten Tuesday post is for you! This week’s featured topic is Books with a High Page Count. Given I read a lot of fantasy, I knew I wouldn’t struggle with the topic.

However, in the spirit of appealing to a wider reading audience, I feature books from the following genres in today’s post: –

Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Classics
Horror
Non-fiction

If you’re a fan of any of these genres, take a look below for some of my recommendations that have a high page count.

Half of this list tops 1,000 pages – have you read any of these? Are you brave enough to give them a go?

Books with a High Page Count

Classics

War and Peace

1,024 pages

Rating: – 🌟🌟🌟🌟

My review: – Review – War & Peace

Lord of the Rings (bind up edition)

1,209 pages

Rating: – Book 1 🌟🌟🌟🌟/ Book 2 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/ Book 3 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

My reviews: –

Review: Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers – J.R.R Tolkien

Review: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King – J. R. R. Tolkien

Horror

IT

1,376 pages

Rating: – 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

My review: – Review: IT – Stephen King

The Stand

1,348 pages

Rating: – 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

My review: – Audiobook Review: The Stand – Stephen King

Imaginary Friend

720 pages

Rating: – 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

My review: – Book Review: Imaginary Friend – Stephen Chbosky

Fantasy

The Way of Kings

1,007 pages

Rating: – 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

My review: – Review: The Way of Kings – Brandon Sanderson

The Mad Ship

906 pages

Rating: – 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

My review: – Book Review: The Mad Ship – Robin Hobb

Non-fiction

A Promised Land

768 pages

Rating: – 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

My review: – To follow

Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World

720 pages

Rating: – 🌟🌟🌟🌟

My review: – Patreon

Historical fiction

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

639 pages

Rating: – 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

My review: – Book Review: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay – Michael Chabon

Summary

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday post hopefully features a book that appeals to everyone, regardless of the genres you read. If you are looking for your next read with a high page account, this Top Ten Tuesday can scratch the itch.

Have you read any of the books on today’s list? Are any of them on your reading list?

Top Ten Tuesday – Books Guaranteed to Put an End to Your Book Slump

Posted on August 12, 2025 by fantasyst95

We all go through reading slumps. Even us voracious readers find ourselves unable to pick up a book now and then. Whether it’s due to a bad run killing our reading vibe, to the complete opposite – a book so good nothing can live up to it, we’ve all been there. That’s where my Books Guaranteed to Put an End to Your Book Slump can help!

Personally, when I’m struggling I tend to seek out the familiar, or favourites. Let’s take a look at some of mine ☺️

Books Guaranteed to Put an End to Your Book Slump

A Game of Thrones

If there was only one series I could read for the rest of my life, I’d choose this one! I love getting immersed in the details of the story. There are characters I love and some I love to hate. It has so much to give! I’ve reviewed this first book which you can check out if you haven’t already.

I’ve already re-read this series once and I don’t doubt I’ll do it again. Certainly I will be if we get word on the next book…

The Hunger Games

I keep threatening to re-read this series!

Having enjoyed reading A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Sunrise on the Reaping in more recent history, I want to return to the main trilogy. I read these books as a teenager and I’m keen to see how they stand the test of time now I am an adult.

I love the world. These books are set in a dystopian world. Fiction is always something I look forward to. For that reason, The Hunger Games series is always a safe bet if I’m looking for books guaranteed to put an end to my book slump.

Mistborn

Brandon Sanderson and his Mistborn series were very highly rated by me the first time I read them. Again, the immersive world and strong characters are easy to love and fall in with.

Honestly, I could have featured any number of Brandon Sanderson books on this list. I have yet to find one I haven’t loved. I have a particular fondness for Mistborn, however, as it is one of the first books I ever read. It’s also a substantial series of seven books across two timelines. The time difference between these two settings also makes a very different world. Whether I’m looking for something of a traditional fantasy, or something a little bit more western, the books in the series can appeal to either of those wants.

Harry Potter

Regardless of the controversy surrounding the author, I really enjoyed the Harry Potter books both as a child growing up, and again more recently as an adult. The latest books in the series are my favourite by far, and I find them very easy to dive back into.

The earlier books are lighter and shorter. If I’m looking for a quicker, lighter fantasy read, these are ideal. But, as I said, I love the latter books. The darkest storyline and more sinister aspects of the plot are really enjoyable to me. Even if the page count is heavier, the content is what I love, and I can devour it!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

I really loved this trilogy by Laini Taylor. The main character, Karou, was one of the reasons why I experimented with dyeing my hair blue 😂

If there was one thing Laini is good at, it’s encompassing an engaging storyline with a lyrical narrative. Her books are very easy to read, and it’s for that reason I’m confident the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy makes my ‘books guaranteed to put an end to your book slump’ list.

Strange the Dreamer

It’s for the exact same reason above that I’ve got Laini Taylor‘s Strange the Dreamer duology on this list!

An added bonus is that the series is only made up of two books, so it’s not too much of a commitment to read, and I can get through it quickly!

Lord of the Rings

Although not the easiest to read, due to the long-winded and complex sentence structures, I love Lord of the Rings. For that reason, this trilogy also makes the cut.

It’s a series I couldn’t get tired of, even if I tried. Plus, it’s a classic!

The Handmaid’s Tale

I’ve already mentioned in this ‘books guaranteed to put an end to your book slump’ that dystopian fiction is a safe genre.

Another dystopian novel I could read over and over is The Handmaid’s Tale. I do enjoy feminist fiction as well as dystopia. The Handmaid’s Tale is also a book I’ve read multiple times already and no doubt will again in the future!

The Midnight Library

In the last two years, I have read this book twice. Both occasions, the experience was different.

The Midnight Library is an interesting and quite short book to read. The subject matter isn’t the easiest, but it’s engaging and thought-provoking. I strongly believe I can take away more from this book the more I read it.

Babel

Combine magic, language, and historical fiction, and you get Babel! I loved this book so much that I plan to read it again.

Babel has a number of elements I love in a book. This will be a great read to pick up if I’m in a slump and don’t know what to pick up next!

Summary

Thanks for taking the time to read my ‘books guaranteed to put an end to your book slump’ Top Ten Tuesday.

Have you read any of the books on this list? What is your go-to book when you’re in a reading slump?

Monthly TBR – August 2025

Posted on August 5, 2025 by fantasyst95

It’s the beginning of August and I’m with you today to share my monthly TBR. It’s the final month of the 20 Books of Summer Challenge. Whilst I fully expected to be a little behind with this challenge as it was a stretch goal, I’m hoping to read as much as I can from that list before the end of the month.

When I shared my monthly wrap-up post just a few days ago, I was very close to completion with both of my current reads. It feels like great progress to share in this post that I have finished both of those books. They won’t feature in this TBR, but mentally it helped set me up for what I can only hope to be success with this monthly TBR.

So, shall we actually get round to talking about the books on the list?

Fixed Reads

The Giver

Starting off with my book club commitments, the first book I need to read is The Giver by Lois Lowry. Following on from The Measure, The Giver is also set in a dystopian world and was very clearly one of the inspiring stories behind this book. When talking about it in our book club discussion last week, Meg recommended picking up The Giver as it’s a great book itself. However, we also decided it would be interesting to see how this book influenced The Measure.

The good news is The Giver is quite a short read. This book is actually aimed at a middle grade or young adult audience. As a result, its page count only sits at around 240. That should be plenty easy to get through!

The House Witch

Next, I am picking up The House Witch with the Cottagecore Fantasy Book Club, over the course of this month. I came to the party late last month. Consequently, I ended up bingeing House of Frank in order to catch up. Instead, I’ll be picking up The House Witch incrementally so I can contribute to the discussion on a weekly basis.

As a result, you’ll see me chipping away at this slowly over the course of the month. That is, unless I get carried away and binge the whole lot early on. We’ll see how my experience goes of the book 😌

If We Were Villains

The next book I’m including in this early section is If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio. I’m including this as a fixed read on this monthly TBR because I have started already. As of this monthly TBR post, I have read around 100 pages so far. Although I can be very hit and miss with Shakespeare, its influence on the narrative isn’t putting me off. In fact, it’s been nice to read a book that dabbles with Shakespeare but isn’t so heavily that I’m put off.

If you are unfamiliar with the premise of the book, If We Were Villains is about a group of theatre students in their final year of education. The school of arts they attend specialises in Shakespeare. Now, I haven’t got to the juicy bit where someone gets murdered. Not yet. However, the parallels of tragedy between Shakespeare’s writing and what inevitably comes to pass are starting to weave their way into the narrative. I’m excited to see what happens and so I imagine this book will be read pretty quickly!

HR Disrupted

I often talk books at work, and a conversation with our HR lady has resulted in my borrowing HR Disrupted from her. She started explaining to me what an HR Disruptor is and what it means in terms of breaking the traditional moulds and practices of HR. I was intrigued, and you know me 😉 I’ll read books on pretty much any subject!

This is a fixed read this monthly TBR as naturally I want to return the book to its rightful owner ASAP ☺️

Mood Reads

The Pagan Lord

Regretfully, I didn’t get to The Pagan Lord, which was on my monthly TBR for July. This is a carry forward, and I’m still looking forward to continuing with this series.

This TBR is a little on the long side, and I will admit that it is ambitious. However, with some shorter books on the list, The Pagan Lord among one of those, I’m hopeful I can catch up with my Goodreads reading challenge. I’m looking forward to reading this 300-page book to get myself back into the Last Kingdom, also known as the Saxon Stories series by Bernard Cornwell.

The Dragon Republic

Another carryover from my July TBR is The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang. I’m looking forward to this second instalment in The Poppy War series.

I’m planning to pick this one up later in the month. Whilst momentum is strong, I want to try and blitz my shorter reads. The Dragon Republic is about 650 pages – it’s not short by any means. If my experience of the first book is anything to go by, it’ll be a slower and more detailed read.

Tyrant’s Throne

A final book of a series I’m looking forward to listening to this month is Tyrant’s Throne by Sebastien de Castell.

It’s also my main audiobook of the month! Naturally, I hope I can finish this in good time and squeeze in another 20 Books of Summer entry before the end of August. The audiobook is 16 and a half hours at x1.2 speed, so not unachievable…

Having just listened to Saint’s Blood, I’m eager to finish the series whilst events are fresh in my mind.

Summary

With a total of seven books, 2200 pages, and 16 and a half hours of audio on this month’s TBR, I’m optimistic for a productive month of reading.

I’ve already made a great start finishing two carryovers from July that aren’t featured in today’s monthly TBR; I’ve wrapped them up already! Let’s hope we can keep the momentum going!

What are you reading this summer?

Monthly Wrap-Up – July 2025

Posted on August 1, 2025 by fantasyst95

In today’s monthly wrap-up, I have a number of books to update you on progress for. Over the course of July, I finished three books in full. I also have two carryovers into the beginning of August (but not long left for either) and one DNF to report.

Let’s dive into today’s monthly wrap-up so you can see which is which!

Books Read

Saint’s Blood

An audiobook carryover from June was my listen of Saint’s Blood by Sebastien de Castell. Admittedly, as of my monthly TBR post, I only had an hour and 15 minutes of the audiobook left.

I finished it off pretty quickly! It was fun to get back into this series as it’s been a little while. Now I’ve finished this book, I’ve only got one book left in the series before I can mark this as complete.

The Anxious Generation

The next and final carryover from June was my physical read of The Anxious Generation.

I had more of this book to read into July. In June, I read the first 60 pages of the book, but that was all. By the time we were four days into July, I’ve progressed to 50% and I finished the book a few days later.

The Anxious Generation was a really informative read. I’d go so far as to say that I think this book should be more widely read. Understanding the changes in childhood experiences (both ways – this book compares and contrasts play-based childhoods and phone-based childhoods throughout) has opened my mind to why we’re seeing generational challenges today.

I rated The Anxious Generation four stars. It was an easy read even though it cites data and statistics. It’s written in layman’s terms so is approachable for all.

Alan Turing: An Enigma

Unfortunately, I have a DNF to share this month. I started listening to Alan Turing: The Enigma this month and I put it down within a couple of weeks.

I couldn’t get on with the book. The early narrative covers Alan’s early life and it was just dry. I was bored. Ultimately, I decided it wasn’t worth pushing on with an audiobook I wasn’t enjoying. I didn’t want to listen to it, nor risk getting into a reading slump over it. So, onwards and upwards….

Stormdancer

… and straight into Stormdancer I went!

Stormdancer has been a much better experience and I’m glad I made the switch. It’s an unconventional genre mash-up – Japanese fantasy and steampunk!

Not that I really had any doubts. Jay Kristoff is a regular feature on my blog now and I haven’t read a book of his I didn’t like. It’s also got me excited as I’ve got another standalone of his, more similar to this series than anything else I’ve read, upcoming on my TBR.

I’ve listened to Stormdancer for the rest of the month of July and as of this monthly wrap-up post, I only have two hours of listening time left.

The Measure

I picked up The Measure on Kindle Unlimited as it was the book I chose for book club. The Measure was already on my TBR and I was sure the premise would make for some great talking points.

It didn’t disappoint! This book was everything I hoped it was and I enjoyed getting to talk through my thoughts on this book. As dystopian books go, the narrative was set in a world very like our own so it was totally relatable. I also enjoyed how the story zoomed in on individual characters and impacts but also looked at how the knowledge of your lifetime impacted society as a whole.

House of Frank

A last-minute addition to my reading list this month was House of Frank. I’ve started to moderate a book club online via Discord and that is the club’s chosen book.

As of this monthly wrap-up I do still technically have a third of the book left to read. In my defence I was late starting it as I joined partway through the month. It’s not stopped me participating in chats about the book so far as it’s broken down into sections for easy participation.

I will, however, try to read this last section of the book over the next couple of days. Then, we can wrap up the discussion before moving on to our next book!

Summary

That’s all from me in this monthly wrap-up update! Have a good weekend and happy reading!

Have you read any of the books I’ve featured in today’s post? What did you read in July?

2025 Mid-Year Review

Posted on July 23, 2025 by fantasyst95

In today’s 2025 mid-year review post, I’m looking back at the 2025 Resolutions I set myself at the beginning of the year. Overall, I feel like progress towards my goals is going well. We’ll see if the proof is in the pudding as I drill into each of my goals and update you on progress.

Shall we take a look at where I’m up to?

Read 45 Books

In 2024, I completed 42 books. With a view to giving myself a little challenge, I set myself a target to complete 45 books.

As of my 2025 mid-year review, I’ve completed 20 books total. That puts me a little behind schedule, but I’m not far off. It’s also important to note that as well as these 20 completed books, I DNF’d two books and I read part of Normal Women before putting it on hold.

All in all, I think it’s fair to say I’m on track. I’m within one book of where I need to be even now, so I’m optimistic I can hit my goal before the end of the year. Let’s just hope I have fewer DNF’s and holds…

Complete Goodreads Challenges Throughout the Year

With some new Goodreads Challenges available this year, I’ve wanted to invest some time and energy this year on reading to get some of these goals.

So far this year, I got three challenges between January and May (Community Favourites) and a further three between May to July (Seasonal Challenge). So far in the Summer Challenge I’ve got three achievements. I confess I haven’t put too much emphasis on reading to meet these challenges in the last few months. Any progress made in them has been a coincidence. It’s something I need to get back on track with. Perhaps I could structure it like my 20 Books of Summer Challenge and almost formalise the challenge to make sure it happens?

Finish or get up-to-date on 10 series

Series have definitely been on my radar this year, so I’m pretty confident I’m giving this goal enough attention.

As of my 2025 mid-year review, half the books I picked up were part of a series. In terms of completions, I have four series where I have either finished the series in full or I’m completely up to date. That’s nearly half! One of these will drop off before the end of the year unless I pick up September’s release (Among the Burning Flowers by Samanta Shannon). Otherwise, I’m looking good.

The other books I’ve read contributing to this 2025 mid-year review, adding to this goal, include some new series “starts”. I wasn’t particularly planning on starting a lot of new series. However, some came up as they were book club reads. Others are trilogies I already own, for example, or I don’t have many books before they are ‘finished’. With this in mind, I’ve picked them up as ‘quick wins’.

There are some slow burns on this list, such as Robin Hobb’s Realm of the Elderlings series that I’ve read towards, but will take a bit longer. For these, I’m not aiming at completion this year, but maybe getting myself to a position where next year is a possibility.

Read Out of my Comfort Zone

My work book club has been pretty influential in terms of reading out of my comfort zone. Picking up books that other people have chosen is a great way to do this.

Notable book club books so far that were out of my comfort zone were Shuggie Bain and Little Fires Everywhere. However, I also drove some of those reads myself. A Promised Land, Crashed, and Ultra-Processed People are books I picked up of my own volition.

I firmly believe that reading broadly is a great changer of perspective. I want to broaden my horizons, so I’m happy with the progress I’ve made so far this year in regards to this goal.

Summary

Overall, I’m happy with the progress I’ve made and could share in this 2025 mid-year review post. As always, there are some areas of improvement. My focus points will be hitting more Goodreads Challenges and finishing series.

Thanks for reading today’s 2025 mid-year review!

What reading goals are you focusing on in the second half of this year?

Belated Top Ten Tuesday – Books I’d Love to Re-Read!

Posted on July 9, 2025 by fantasyst95

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday post is regretfully coming out later than planned. Unfortunately, despite my prep work on Monday to get this post ready for drafting, work got in the way.

We’re usually busy at work after a bank holiday anyway. Combine that with quarter-end and there being several people out of the office. It’s fair to say yesterday didn’t particularly go well.

Long story short, I ended up logging back on at home during the evening and so I didn’t have time to finish this Top Ten Tuesday. The good news is that I’ve managed to get my most time sensitive work now finished. And, I’ve been able to draft this post for you just a day later than planned (instead of a week!)

So, I hope you’re excited to read this Top Ten Tuesday post and that it was worth the wait!

Books I’d Love to Re-read

The Hunger Games

I’ve been threatening to re-read The Hunger Games for a little while now. I’m hoping to do so later this year!

It’s been a little while since I read the books of the main trilogy. These are the books I want to go back to in particular because they are the ones I’ve not read for a while. I read A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes last year and Sunrise on the Reaping just recently. I haven’t decided if I’ll include these two books in my re-read as yet, but no doubt I’ll update you on that as and when the re-read happens.

A Game of Thrones

If there was one series I had to limit myself to read for the rest of my life, I would choose to read and re-read A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin.

It’s my favourite series of all time. That shows in the way I have a copy of each book in physical, ebook, and audio format. It also shows in the number of times I’ve read the books (the series to date twice and the first book four times!)

There is so much detail in the series that every time you go back, you pick up on something new. It’s also very difficult to get bored of as there’s so much going on and so much to take away.

Mistborn

I read the early Mistborn books when I was a teenager. Having finished the series as an adult, I want to go back and appreciate these earlier books from an older and more experienced perspective.

I loved these books when I was younger and I’m interested to see how much, if at all, my experience changes second time around!

The Midnight Library

I have already read The Midnight Library twice. I initially read it for myself, and then picked it up again as one of our early book club reads. The Midnight Library is a very profound narrative. It’s a narrative in which you can take something new away each time you read it.

I’d be interested to see if the book lands differently reading this at different times in my life, each with its own pressures and joys.

The Midnight Library is a pretty rare entry on this Top Ten Tuesday and that it’s only one of two entries to the list that isn’t a series!

Empire of the Vampire

I’ve enjoyed the first two books of Jay Kristoff’s Empire of the Vampire series so much that I already know I want to re-read it once it’s done.

I believe the final instalment is coming out later this year. Honestly, I will be very sad to see this finish. But that opens the door for a re-read!

Babel

So far, I have only read Babel once. However, I loved this book the first time round. When I first read the book, I only had a token appreciation for its nods to historical English colonialism. When I go back to re-read this book, I want to do so with a better understanding of this point in the narrative.

It just goes to show that you can learn about a wide variety of topics in books where you don’t even realise that’s a theme…

Realm of the Elderlings

I’m only on book 7 of Robin Hobb’s The Realm of the Elderlings series. However, I already know that this is a series I will read and re-read throughout my life.

Here’s a huge thank you to my friend Rachael for getting me into this series. Whilst I had already purchased a copy of the first book, Assassin’s Apprentice, she gave me the nudge to get started. I’ve never looked back!

The world in which I have read so far has such a detailed history and lots of complex action. It also has its fair share of heartbreak. I sobbed finishing Fool’s Errand. If you know, you know. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the series entails in the first place, and then no doubt can’t wait to get back to it!

Harry Potter

A classic story, Harry Potter is going to be a well-read series throughout the ages. I have a particular love for this series because I grew up with it and I aged with it.

I have already re-read the series once in my life. Reading these books from an older perspective was already more interesting. I have more of a love for the later books in the series where events get a little darker than the comparatively lighthearted first books.

Nevernight Chronicles

Jay Kristoff features for a second time here in today’s Top Ten Tuesday post. I first discovered his writing when listening to his Nevernight Chronicles books. I loved this story so much that I definitely want to re-read it. This time, I want to experience the books in either e-book or physical format as opposed to audio. I really enjoyed the footnotes and witticisms throughout the narrative, and I want to see how differently these come across in the different format as opposed to audio.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Although I’m not much of a romance girly, I could route behind the character Karou and the romance that unfolds in Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

Plus, Laini Taylor has such a beautiful and effortless writing style. Daughter of Smoke and Bone would be such an easy trilogy to pick up and read again. And again…

Summary

Apologies this Top Ten Tuesday went live later than planned. However, it’s been a fun post to write, and I definitely need to write my priority list on when to re-read each of the books and series featured in today’s post.

Have you read any of the books on today’s Top Ten Tuesday? Have you ever re-read any of the books?

Monthly TBR – July 2025

Posted on July 4, 2025 by fantasyst95

The books in today’s monthly TBR are all part of my 20 Books of Summer Challenge. It shouldn’t be a surprise, in a broad sense, what I’ll be reading over the next few months. In my recent Top Ten Tuesday post, I shared which books on that list I’m prioritising soon.

The culmination of both these lists is my July Monthly TBR. Take a look at the books coming up on this month’s list – I’m very excited to pick each and every one of these up!

Fixed Reads

The Anxious Generation

The first of my carryovers from June is The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. As of my monthly wrap-up post, I’d read the first 60 pages. As of drafting this monthly TBR, I’m another 100 pages along. Progress therefore stands at about 50%.

The Anxious Generation has proven to be an interesting and relatively easy read. For a non-fiction, informative book, it’s not dry. The facts and figures are easily spelled out and backed up. Perhaps I’m biased by the subject matter meaning so much to me. Either way, I’m really enjoying The Anxious Generation so far and hopefully I’ll blast through the last half before the end of the week!

Saint’s Blood

The second and final carryover onto this monthly TBR is my audiobook listen, Saint’s Blood. I’m even closer to the finish line with this book, with just 45 minutes listening time left as of drafting this post. I will absolutely finish this book tomorrow at the latest!

Saint’s Blood has been a great listen and I’ve loved getting back into this series. With just one book left after this one is finished, it makes sense to pick the sequel up soon and finish the series. That way it’s fresh in my mind, and it’s a tick in the ol’ box for my series completion resolution 😅

The Measure

I’ve convinced book club to pick up The Measure this month. I was a little worried about squeezing in book club reads on top of my Summer Challenge TBR. However, it was my turn to pick a book and so I made it work to my advantage!

I think this will be a good fit for the group as well. The story type appeals to the reading tastes of several in the group. That’s a great start. Also, I think this will have some really interesting talking points for our meet-up.

Win-win!

Mood Reads

The Pagan Lord

I’ve convinced my boyfriend Shane to start watching The Last Kingdom. We’ve recently finished watching Vikings (which he introduced me to), and he’s liking it so far.

I reviewed Death of Kings recently and shamed myself a little over how long it’s been since I picked up the series. It’s quite a long one, so not a likely candidate for a finish this year. Pagan Lord is book seven of the series. I think there are 13 in total off the top of my head. That’s no reason not to make progress with it though!

At around the 300-page mark, The Pagan Lord will make for a good recap to the series. I have watched the series, so I should be able to pick up the storyline quickly enough despite the reading gap. It should also be a relatively quick read – helpful to getting caught up with my reading goal!

If We Were Villains

The oldest book on this monthly TBR, in terms of how long it’s been on my TBR, is If We Were Villains.

I’ve had a copy of this on my bookshelf for years. It’s finally time to get to it! Although I’m not a big Shakespeare fan, I do love literature and drama. This combination means I’m looking forward to this book. In the past, I’ve enjoyed dark academia books. If We Were Villains falls into this category. It all bodes well – let’s just hope the book lives up to my expectations.

The Dragon Republic

Whilst events of The Poppy War are fresh in my mind, I want to pick up the sequel. As the second book of a trilogy, progress with The Dragon Republic means I’ll have just one book left in the series once it’s done. Naturally, I’ll then look to finish the trilogy this year! That’ll be another series ticked off my list ☺️

The Poppy War was a great read. It wasn’t the fastest because the story was quite dense. Not in a bad way. I enjoyed taking my time over it. I don’t know if The Dragon Republic will be the same. Having laid the groundwork, events could go either way. Things could speed up now the world-building is established. Equally though, if there is more to lay down it could be a repeat of the same. I’ll just have to see how it goes. If I expect the latter then I won’t be disappointed if reading progress is a little slower.

Alan Turing: The Enigma

Another chunky read on this monthly TBR is in the form of an audiobook. I’ve deliberately chosen to listen to the book for this reason. As I’m so close to finishing Saint’s Blood, I should have plenty of time to listen to Alan Turing.

I added this book to my reading list after watching The Imitation Game. I’m intrigued to learn more about the person who had such an important influence on history. What shocked me most was how Alan Turing was treated after all he did to end WW2. I’m hoping this is covered in the book, because it’s a significant part of Mr Turing’s story. I’ll let you know in due course whether it does and what my thoughts are on the book.

Summary

I have a good number of books on this monthly TBR. However, given I’m close to finishing the carried over books from June, I think this is achievable. Even if I have a repeat of this month and get very close, I’ll be happy.

What books are coming up on your reading list?